Bannock is a yeast free bread that can either be fried or baked. It is a staple in the diets of many North American indigenous groups.
This version, originally submitted by Janet F of Cumberland House, SK Canada, is baked.
Janet says this recipe: Makes the best bannock for any meal breakfast, lunch or supper even great for a snack when the kids are hungry and cannot wait for their meal.
Some people fry their bannock, so that is an option too if you want to try that. Either way it looks so good.
You can use bannock for so many things. I have even seen it used as a burger bun, pizza base or dessert, with lots of sweet toppings.
Give it a try.
Bannock
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour, or half and half whole wheat and white flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup oil, or olive oil
- 1 cup water, or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Mix all dry ingredients into a big bowl. Add water or milk and add the oil of your choice. Mix all ingredients together until the batter becomes like bread dough, not sticky.
- Put flour onto table surface then roll the dough with your fists for about 2 minutes, like making a bread dough. Pound the dough into a round ball then slowly expand the dough by making it nice and round about half inch thick and should be round like a pie plate. Make holes with a fork by poking it all around the dough from top to bottom.
- Then with your cookie sheet ready put the bannock onto cookie sheet and bake it at 375ºF until it becomes golden brown. Spread lard on the bannock when it comes out of the oven to keep it moist and delicious.
Notes
Nutrition
Serves about 8.
Hint:
You can adjust the thickness of the dough if you prefer your bannock bread to be thin or thick. Make sure the thickness of it is say 1 inch and thinner in size. The thinner bannock dough would be about half inch and rounder more than a pie plate and do not forget the holes in your bannock. Also, don’t forget to adjust your baking time. The thinner the bannock, the shorter the baking time needed.
Enjoy with real butter.
Optional: Add 1 cup of raisins and 3 tablespoons of sugar into the dough when you are mixing the ingredients together.
I think you will enjoy this bannock recipe. And remember, if it isn’t perfect the first time, don’t worry. Practice makes perfect.
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I finished the recipe. My Grand Daughter wanted to try it. We shall see how it tastes.
The name Bannock seems to originate from the Old Celtic English “bannuc”, derived from the Latin “panicium” for “bread” or meaning “anything baked”. Made simply from oatmeal and flour, the first citing of a bannock or bannuc recipe in Scotland was in the 8th Century. It’s amazing this tasty Scottish bread is still baked today! It is NOT native American at all but was introduced by settlers to the North American aboriginal people.
I shall be trying this recipe – it looks very promising! One comment I must make, though… Bannock is decidedly NOT American. It is First Nations. There are many reasons why that doesn’t translate to “American” (several of those reasons being painful history lessons), one obvious one being that bannock does not solely exist within the bounds of the USA. Here in Canada, our people (First Nations) have been making bannock for hundreds and hundreds of years, too – well predating the USA itself, and Canada, too. So, please remember that bannock is not, in fact, American.
You are right Muin and I am sorry that I marked that recipe “American”. I am Canadian myself and very aware that bannock is indigenous. Unfortunately I don’t have that option on my list of countries of origin. The recipe was submitted by a community member and I wasn’t sure if indigenous groups would think it is authentic so I didn’t mention it being indigenous. I will correct that and have added Canadian as one of the countries of origin of the recipe. Thank you for pointing it out to me. Let me know how the recipe works for you. Karen
Hi Karen, Just discovering your recipe…. My stomach does not cope well with wheat flour. Can I use coconut or almond flour instead? And the bannock I tried today was more like a bun than a flat bread. So what’s the difference in making it?
I haven’t tried it with gluten free flour Veronique so I can’t say for sure. I would probably work well with your favorite 1 to 1 replacement gluten free flour. I use Ardent Mills brand that I get at Costco, but I haven’t made bannock with it. The bun vs flat bread issue could just be the way you rolled it out. Roll it out thinner for flat bread because it will still rise.
this was easy and quick. DELICIOUS!!!
I didn’t poke holes in it and baked it for 15 minutes and it was still doughy
Hi Brenda, You didn’t bake it long enough. Or your oven temperature was too low. Some ovens are not the exact tempurature we set them to so you may need to increase the oven temperature a bit. I hope this helps Karen
Trying this right now!!! So excited
Great Katrina. Let me know how it turned out. Karen
very good i like making bannock and bread is very good thank you
Quick and easy, I made it into 8 small rounds. I always poke in the middle to be sure it’s done in center. Light and so yummy.
Other than people eating it, how long will it last?
Like most homemade breads with no preservatives and because it’s a thin bread, it will last for a couple of days.
Three days on the counter and five days in the fridge
Tastes amazing!
I don’t use lard. Will butter or margarine work as well?
I haven’t used butter or margarine in the recipe, but I imagine it should work relatively well.
Can you cut the dough and put in muffin tins?
Hi Alyce. I have never tried that. Bannock is usually cooked in a fairly flat shape so my concern about putting them in muffin tins is making sure they are cooked through.
First time trying the recipe. I only had pastry flour on hand, but, sooo good. I added some shredded cheese I had to use up with a garlic spread. Absolutely amazing!!! Definitely gonna continue to make with pastry flour. And try frying it next time.
Loving the bread though I want to know how long do you bake it for? I couldn’t find it on the recipe itself
Hi Shannon, 20 to 25 minutes should be good.
How much milk/water? Is it 1/2 c oil plus 1/2c milk/water?
1 cup of water or milk plus the oil.